Jeff LangmaidFounder, The Evidence Based Chiropractor

What Happens When You Fake a Chiropractic Adjustment

7 Jun 2026 · 1 min

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In this segment Jeff Langmaid describes a controlled experimental study that examined how the brain regulates the neck and cervical spine. Participants were divided into two groups: one received a genuine upper‑cervical (C1‑C2) chiropractic adjustment, while the other received a sham manipulation that felt similar but lacked the therapeutic thrust. Measurements of neural control were taken immediately before and after the intervention, allowing a direct comparison of true versus fake adjustments. Jeff signals that the upcoming findings are particularly noteworthy.

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So they're really measuring how well the brain is controlling the neck and the cervical spine. And they measured this, importantly, before and immediately after the adjustment. And they split all of the participants into two groups. One group received a true upper cervical adjustment at C1-C2. The other group received a sham manipulation. So it kind of looked similar, it felt a little similar, but it didn't have the actual thrust. So it was a legitimately controlled comparison. So let's dive into some of the findings because this is where things get pretty interesting.